Wednesday 27 April 2011

Blog Standard

Very very regular day at school today, seriously not much in the way of actual events to talk about, so it looks like I'm going to have to actually use my imagination for the first time. Gulp.

Mental blocks are absolutely the worst things ever in my opinion. It's not even the fact that you don't know something, it's because it is just ever so slightly out of your reach - like that bloody dandelion seed that you're desperate to catch. Just me? Right...

I'm sure everyone else has had the depressing "time" thoughts. The thought that every second, millisecond, microsecond of your life is permanently imprinted into history. Not all of it may be significant, of course, but it's still there, and for me when I get on this tangent it seems impossible not to derail myself! What would have happened if I had done this instead of that? If I hadn't done that would this have happened? It's mind-boggling to say the very least, and the idea of action and reaction is something that is so easy to obsess over.

As you've probably noticed there isn't much structure to this post today - it's a little exercise in brainstorming and writing on the fly for me. But hold on for a moment, that doesn't render it meaningless! Sitting here on the couch with the near-deafening sound of the Real Madrid vs Barcelona game flooding my ears, I've came up with two little contrasting ways of looking at actions and consequence.

If we could just bring back the dandelion for a moment, we could use the seeds (the little white floaty things!) to represent every action that we commit. As soon as we do anything, from buttering our toast in the morning or falling asleep at night, that particular action's "seed" floats off, never to be seen again. We can't decide where the seed lands, and once it has been let go that is it, unchangeable. There's a finality to the whole situation, and there is almost a sadness about the lack of appreciation humans now have for time, in a society with an ever decreasing attention span.

Another way to look at it is to look at time - more specifically, life - as a stretch of fabric. In fact, thinking of this idea now I'm pretty sure I have subconsciously plagarised it from Into the Wild (brilliant film and book; credit where it's due), in which the main character uses a leather belt to engrave the memories of his journey on. This metaphor is slightly more encouraging and comforting than the dandelion theory, in that our past experiences are not seen as some unchangeable, inalterable decision, but a lesson or memory whether it is bad or good respectively.

Whichever of these two scenarios you look at, time is precious and our decisions are crucial. They shape who we are and who we will be. The wrong decisions can set you back, and put you miles off track. However, no matter what decisions you make in life, there is always the ability to remedy the wrong ones. All you need is the right people, and a willingness to change. It doesn't have to be a serious mistake, it just needs to be something that you wish was different. And wishing it was different is half the battle.

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